Thanks, Dana, for an elegant statement and suggestion.
----------
From: danna bell-russel
Reply To: danna bell-russel
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2001 20:37
To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
Subject: Re: A modest proposal
Good evening,
As someone who has been on the archives list since the early 1990's I am
amused to see the same sorts of comments recycled over and over again.
Many, many times there have been calls for a moderator for this list.
Almost as many times I have seen comments that we should avoid a moderator
since that would distroy the free flow of comments that make this listserv
unique.
{{ SNIP! }}
Yup...all lists seem to go through this type of behavior. Why should we be any different <G> ?
If you all want discussions with archival content then you have to create
them.
{{ SNIP! }}
But, gosh, doesn't that entail engaging some thoughtful reflection and checking the ego at the keyboard <G>?
The Web4Lib list is moderated (Boy, is it ever!) and I got just got my hand slapped for mistakenly sending a (forbidden) "TEST" message (we've been experiencing, uh, "network problems", yeah, that's the polite way to describe it!) to that list. Given the individuals (note the plural) who moderate the list, there is a very free and open discussion with nowhere near the noise that we get on this list Their moderators are very effective at politely keeping things on track without being heavy-handed.
I think Richard Pierce-Moses said a week or so ago that if a list message
seems problematic ignore it. I will say the same but will also add the
suggestion that if you feel the need to discuss it, discuss with the
poster and not with the entire list.
I hate to sound negative but I am terribly frustrated by the members of
this list. If you want a list that meets your needs it is up to you to
take control and make it a list that you want. I don't believe this list
needs a moderator; it needs members who are willing to share their issues
relating to archives and archivists (and the other topics listed above)and
relegate their feelings about the events outside of those areas to the
thousands upon thousands of lists that serve that function. It needs
people to ask professional and thought provoking questions and people to
provide substantive and thought provoking answers. It needs people who can
get past being stuck by one (or ten) off topic posters. If the membership
of this list can't do this then the Council Archives List Committee needs
to know so we can start soliciting applications for a list moderator.
Have a lovely evening.
Danna Bell-Russel
National Digital Library Learning Center
Library of Congress
I find myself sliding in favor of having moderation lately...but plural, please. It's far too much work for one person to do alone, with 3000 odd folks on this list. and having more than one moderator means that if there is a judgement call to be made, then perhaps there would be some judicious consensus to the decision. The process of multiple moderators works on lists as diverse as the Web4Lib and the Internet BMW (Motorcycles) Owners...if we are truly professionally oriented, it should certainly work for us.
But, then, this list IS ultimately sponsored by SAA...
"The list is unmoderated. Hence, individuals are solely responsible for their postings and are expected to be self-policing. In general, participants are not sanctioned for failing to comply with these guidelines. However, the list sponsors and manager reserve the right to block an individual from posting if off-topic or abusive postings threaten to disrupt the functioning of the list. Further, the list manager may, in consultation with members of the Council Listserv Advisory Committee, block an individual from posting if he or she believes that the individual has violated these Terms of Participation and has persisted in postings messages that violate these Terms after notice from the manager. An individual blocked from posting may be allowed to resume posting when the list manager and members of the Council Listserv Advisory Committee feel that the individual is willing to abide by these guidelines."
From "Terms of Participation" (http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.html)
So, despite line one, it sounds like we already HAVE a group of moderators. Have things just not gotten to the point of threatening "to disrupt the functioning of the list"? (Sheesh, I dread to think what THAT would be...)
My $0.25 (are we in recession yet?) this gorgeous Friday morning down here in Baytown, TX,
Dennis
Dennis Moser, MILS
Project Director, IMLS National Leadership Grant
Digital Imaging Faculty
Lee College
P.O. Box 818, Baytown, TX 77522-0818
(281)425-6819/(281)425-6557 (fax)
dmoser@lee.edu